In recent years, there has been a resurgence of game playing among people. Two factors help the comeback of game playing—the preference of consumers to get entertainment in less expensive ways, and the desire of people to spend more time with family and friends. For example, parents like to have time together with children. Besides or instead of taking a long expensive trip to a remote place, parents are more likely to play games together with their children now and then. Games are thus a family affair. Board games, such as card games, have the appeal of great entertainment for a small price. They also have the element of human interaction that enables family and friends to mingle.
According to research data, the most popular board games are card games. As shown in FIG. 1A, a conventional card game 104 usually consists of cards that are marked with figures, numbers, or symbols. The corresponding game playing usually is about coordinating these figures, numbers, or symbols to reach a winning outcome. Image creation generally is not part of a card game. As a result, the game playing process generally does not involve artistic creation of images.
Puzzles 106 enjoy wide popularity as well. See FIG. 1B. Word puzzles are common scenes in newspapers and magazines. Jigsaw puzzles and 3-D puzzles mostly are about image making and shape formation. However, both the jigsaw puzzles and the 3-D puzzles usually focus on putting pieces together to recreate predetermined images and shapes. NO emphasis has been placed on the dynamic creation of random, artistic images. The processes are generally mechanical, hence weak on creativity and strategy as well.
Further, both the conventional card games 104 and puzzles 106 are generally restrictive. They put limits on where the games can be played and how many people may participate. In physical form, cards and puzzle pieces are generally made of paper, cardboard, or plastics. These materials cannot sustain good game play in adverse outdoor conditions that may include rain and wind. Hence, players usually need to move themselves indoors if they want to continue the game in inclement weather. Further, the playing surfaces generally have to be flat and horizontal.
Even more, both the conventional card games 104 and the puzzles 106 tend to separate the game playing experience from a player's immediate environment. For example, conventional card games or puzzles may require playing surfaces that have a certain size. Further, both the conventional card games and the conventional puzzles tend to predetermine the numbers of players per game. These restrictions put limits on how the consumers may entertain and socialize by playing a game.
Thus, there exists a need for a card game that avoid or reduce the problems discussed above.